Tag Archive | philadelphia marathon

In case you missed my last two posts. I was tempted to sign up for Berlin…. text in gray.

Scroll to today’s text in black down below.

I am the ultimate worst at making any personal decisions!

I have the chance to do Berlin this year. I’d have to register in less than 3 weeks.

ME: I really have no interest in doing another marathon / Ugh, the frigging long runs

Myself: What if I could have a new PR??? All indicates I could PR. Last time I had a Marathon PR (3:27, also in Berlin) my half time was 1:44, now I am down to 1:36 (did TWO 1:36s this year). And I had PRed at the half in the second half of Berlin with 1:40. I am sure a PR is a given now. Finish time calculations put me anything from 3:15 to 3:21. Which would be insane!!! I actually never thought of PRing ever again since Berlin 2012.

ME: But… have 9 weeks to train, and I haven’t done any long runs in 2 years. The longest I’ve done is the 3 halves I’ve run this year and a couple of 15 milers in the winter.

Myself: It’ll go super quick, you only have 9 weeks of long runs!

ME: I need rest. I am exhausted. I haven’t taken a week off or an easy week since my trip to Italy last November!

Myself: Ok, it’s happening. This week. While we decide.

For now, I am taking this week as an EASY week. While I think. Easy weeks are harder than Marathon Training. And I HATE marathon training…

I am doing a marathon this year!

And… I made a decision!! It actually happened very quick after one comment in my last post!

bangle44 posted: That’s an expensive trip for something you aren’t sure about and have already done. Save it and PR at NYC among your adoring fans. Or come to Philly…

Um, duh!!!!!! WHY on earth had I never thought about doing another marathon? Or another marathon that wasn’t Berlin??? I PRed in Berlin 4 years ago and told myself it would never happen again, like it was there or nowhere else. I couldn’t have PRed in NYCM or Boston (which are the only ones I did after Berlin) but there’s OTHER races… Oh, I think I was just stuck there because that’s where world records are made, and there wouldn’t be any other “fast” courses. Anyway, I realize now I could potentially PR somewhere else. DUH. So I don’t really need to go to Berlin…

Actually, to be totally honest, I had thought about it for about 3 days in April… A friend of mine, Martina, did a 3:23 in Boston this year, which was insanely hot (and she hates hates hates the heat) and we had done the NYC Half in the same time… it got me thinking. I got super pumped to race a marathon, and I was 80% planned to do Erie. And as fast and furious as I got excited, it went away.

Is it wrong that I want to do a marathon to PR?I had NEVER been in that position. I swear. I’ve done (let me go count) 10 marathons and I only stressed out about the first one. Of those ten, I have 5PRs, 1 automatic PR, and 4 non-PRs (all the last ones!!!). I just used to love it. I wouldn’t even think about not signing up. Then Blaise moved to “Brooklyn”.

I think not having a stable training partner really stresses me, having to see who’s available each weekend… Patricia is (sometimes too fast for me and) away most summer weekends, and it just took the fun out the weekends run to have to find other people. Which is not a problem, and I have all these other amazing people to run with. I just had it way too easy and got spoiled!

Oh, which marathon am I doing? Care to guess???

HELLO, HERE, YES HERE

As most of you guessed, Philly it is! Why had I never ever ever considered it? Or any other flat marathon for that matter??? Who knows… There’s a lot of factors helping Philly to the top of the list:

EASY to get to, just two hours bus or train ride from NYC

No need to stress with plane tickets, jetlag, passports and messy things

I lived in Philly from 2001 to 2005 so I am almost like a local there

I have a really good friend that lives there and would like to visit her

Was already planning to go, just to do the half maybe, with Kettia

We are meeting friends there

I can still do ALL the other Fall races I wanted to do, because Philly is later, in mid-November

I have 17 weeks to train!

Race won’t be full until October…

Course is flat with a couple of little bumps. It’s a scenic out and back, which I love. I have already run the course.

I can downgrade to the half if I feel like it 😉 Why can’t I just commit?

There’s two bad things. One, is that it’ll be a crazy week! We’d come back to NYC Sunday night or Monday. I have to work. Wednesday I leave for two days, for Thanksgiving. I come back Friday and Saturday we leave for Italy for two weeks. So, lots of travelling and 3 sets of packing and unpacking in 1 week. The other bad thing: it’s still a MARATHON.

But you know what I like? That I can just NOT do it if it becomes too much. I feel zero pressure to even show up. (emm, I haven’t signed up yet…)